Gather
by Howlitzer
Summary: It feels like home, more than anything. [P3S]


a/n: Slow thoughts. Good feelings.

* * *

"Leave it to you to show up in somethin' puffed up!"

"What? Can't a girl look good every once in a while?"

"Well, you already pull off lookin' good! That outfit's a bit above and beyond, though...you probably lit a fire under every guy with a pulse around here!"

"I can't help that, Blue."

"No, I think you could have. I told you to change before we left."

"See, even Shads agrees!"

"He does not!"

Tails shook his head and continued to mix the punch. The day was reserved for a backyard barbeque at Amy's place. Rouge had decided to dress a little too casually and Sonic was letting the whole neighbourhood know about it. Shadow crossed his arms and set his face in its usual position.

Amy was jumping rope with Cream and Vanilla, while the Chaotix played cards. Vector groaned as he lost the fifth game of Texas Hold 'Em in a row, much to Mighty's amusement and Charmy's joy.

"Hey, Chef! Watch the burgers!"

"Good eye, lil' bro! Don't want 'em looking like Shads...well, they'd still look better either way."

Shadow glared at Sonic. The blue hedgehog playfully blew him a kiss.

"Careful now, you don't want anyone getting the wrong idea about you two," Rouge joked.

"Ay, we live in a progressive society, don't we? Right, Shads?" he said as he put an arm around his rival.

"Not nearly that progressive," Shadow said as he escaped Sonic's embrace.

"Tch. Prude."

"Don't be so hard on him, Blue. He just can't keep his hands off me at nights."

"What...?"

"Ooh, are you two finally a thing?!" Amy yelled as she bounded over.

"We're not a 'thing', whatever that means," Shadow protested.

"Aw, lighten up. Rouge is a good gal. You shoulda got hitched a long time ago," Sonic said with a smirk.

"Speaking of getting hitched..."

"It's not gonna work, Amy. I told you, relationships are hard for me...now that I identify as a fighter jet."

"That certificate is fake!"

"It's totally mint! Tails'll tell ya," he said as he casually flipped the burgers on the grill.

"That's not true! I mean...is it, Tails?"

The fox shrugged. "Who knows..."

"Grr...you two!"

"Alright, I found the..." Knuckles came to a stop near Rouge, a bundle of paper towels in his arms. "What...are you wearing?"

"You like?"

"N-no! It's obscene. And inappropriate. There are children here," Knuckles said as he blushed.

"Looks like it's workin' just as intended," Sonic quipped from behind her.

"They don't call you 'Rad Red' for nothing, huh," Shadow said as he snickered.

"Cut it out!"

"Knuckles is right! It's definitely _way_ too vulgar for casual wear."

"Vulgar? What does that mean, Miss Amy?" Cream asked.

"In this context, it means something that makes guys act all weird and creepy around girls. But my Sonikku would never fall into such a trap!"

"I'unno...the view from here is preeeetty nice..."

"How could you?!"

"Jealousy is not a good look on you, Amy."

She gave Knuckles a blank stare. "Really?"

He blinked as the others around him chuckled. "What? What'd I say?"

"Is the food done yet? I'm starving!" Vector yelled.

"No, you're tired of getting whupped by Charmy," Mighty said with a grin.

"A viable exit strategy. As expected of our leader," Espio added in.

"I oughta sack all o'you wise guys..."

"I'm sure things are almost done."

"You betcha, Vanilla! Add Fastest – and Greatest – Chef Alive to my pile of awesome titles!" Sonic called back as he finished the last of the burgers. "Go ahead and dig in, folks. I'll just grill some more in case anyone wants thirds! Or fourths, even!"

"You sure these are cooked all the way through?"

"'Course I am. I ain't you, Knux."

"It happened one time, okay? One time!"

"Once is more than enough," Shadow said as he stabbed into his burger with a fork. "Obnoxious as he is, Sonic seems to have credentials when it comes to food safety."

"See? I got the Shadow Seal of Approval! Ya can't beat that, Red!"

"Hrm."

"Lighten up, Knuckles!" Tails said as he finished mixing the punch. "All you have to do is get the right brand of charcoal next time."

"I think I'll stick to a traditional wood fire next time..."

"It would be for the best," Espio said. He finished dressing his burger and bit into it. "Mm. Superb flavour."

"Yeah! These are crazy good!" Vector yelled.

"What was that crack you made the last time, Sonic?" Mighty asked with a smile. "Burgers good enough to make you jump outta your clothes?"

"Yep!"

"Someone beat you to it," Amy muttered, glancing at Rouge.

"Rude!"

"She got you good," Shadow said while chewing.

"Et tu, Sunshine?"

"These burgers are actually not bad..."

"Tch, changing the subject...but yeah, these really are nice!"

Sonic rubbed his nose with a grin. "It's a new family recipe! Well, it's only a family recipe since you guys are here."

"Family, eh?" Mighty said as he chewed.

"Yeah! Even Amy!"

"Hey!"

"Just joshin'. But I mean...we all got pretty tight after the last few adventures, eh?"

"You could say as much," Shadow replied. "At the very least, we tolerate each other. Despite the antics of certain hedgehogs."

"Aw, I'm sure we forgave you for trying to kill us all those times."

Shadow glared at Sonic.

"We should do this more often!" Charmy yelled out.

"We should," Vanilla said, agreeing with him. "It's very nice to see everyone together, just having fun. Usually, we only see each other when the world is in danger...those things shouldn't be what define your lives. Every so often, we need to stop and relax."

"Well, Vanilla would know. She's a great mom, after all," Amy said with a smile.

"The best Mama in the whole world!"

Cream jumped into her mother's arms, and Vanilla wiped away the crumbs on her mouth with a handkerchief.

"Vanilla's totally right. We should do this way more often. Oh, next time we'll have it at our place! Tails has been dyin' to test out that new grill he built!" Sonic said. "And then the next time after that, we'll have a get together at Shads' place! It can be all black tie and stuff."

"Do you even know what black tie means, hedgehog?"

"Nope."

"Figures," Shadow grumbled.

"Ah, I'll just bring some bubbly and snacks and we'll all have a good time. How's that?"

"It sounds like a disaster waiting to happen."

"Glad you approve! Who wants more burgers?"

Shadow looked around at the faces filling the yard. From different places and walks of life...

 _This isn't the picture that first came to mind when I thought of family._

Rouge caught his glance at her and smiled warmly.

He grunted in his usual manner, but found himself smiling back.

 _But it's a beautiful picture nonetheless. Is this what you saw for me, Maria? I hope so...it's pretty nice._

"Enjoying yourself?" Rouge asked.

"As much as I could with the Faker around," Shadow said gruffly.

She chuckled lightly and patted his shoulder. "I'm glad to hear it, hon."

"Did we miss it?!"

Two new, familiar visitors appeared.

"Ya didn't miss a thing! Red, go and get more burgers for us! I can tell that Silv here is gonna clean me out in no time flat."

"I also had to come, once you mentioned those famous burgers of yours...but I'm not expecting much."

Sonic gave Blaze a cocky grin as she folded her arms. "Prepare to be blown away!"

"You just bring it."

"She's even worse than you," Rouge said to Shadow as the two stared each other down.

"Yeah, she's..." He gave her a look, to which she smiled and shrugged.

"Ay, Shads! Come on up for seconds, don't be shy!"

"Shy is not a word I would _ever_ be around the likes of you."

Sonic slid the cooked piece of beef onto Shadow's plate. He gave his rival a friendly wink.

Shadow grunted and gave a slow nod before turning away.

 _I appreciate you too, Shadow._

Sonic looked away from the black hedgehog with a smile, focusing on his grilling.


End file.
